A Lot Can Happen In A Month
by strangerfiction35
Summary: Discusses the events that take place between the time El closes the gate and the Snowball one month later. Rated T for general language as displayed in the show.
1. Chapter 1

_Lights flashing, sirens blaring, the screech of tires on asphalt, first responders shouting, and a horrible, unbearable burning-_

Will shot up in bed, breathing hard. His face was wet with tears.

An urgent voice called out in the darkness, "Will?"

His head snapped to the noise, suddenly remembering.

In the dim light, Will could barely make out Mike's face next to his bed. He was wrapped in a sleeping bag on the floor.

"Will, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm fine. It's just-"

"A bad dream?"

Will sighed, "Yeah."

"About… the Mind Flayer?"

"No… about that night… in the field. When they… you know…"

"Yeah."

Will looked over at the clock; 2:46 in the morning. Between the nights at the lab and the constant threat of the Mind Flayer, no one in the house had gotten much sleep over the past week. "Sorry I woke you up."

"No, it's fine. You sure you're okay?", Mike asked.

Will lay back down in the tangle of sheets, "Yeah," he said, "I'm fine."

 _BEEEEP! BEEEEEP! BEEEEP!_ The alarm on Will's nightstand blared, cutting through the silence of the morning. He heard a rustle from next to his bed- Mike was up and, by the looks of it, the rest of the house too.

He rolled out of bed and followed his friend out into the kitchen, where Nancy, Jonathan, and his mom were getting breakfast ready.

Mom looked over as they walked in. "Hey, boys! What do you think about school today?"

Will didn't want to miss another day of school. With all that had been going on, he wanted something to go back to normal.

"Anything's better than sitting around the house for another day." he said.

Mike nodded wordlessly.

Twenty minutes later, they were dressed and waiting by the door.

"Mom! I can take them if you want." Jonathan said.

"No, no. That's okay."

"Mom, come on. Nancy and I have to go anyway."

Will's mom hesitated, but only for a moment. "Okay, fine. But be careful!"

He laughed. "Always. Come on, guys."

El woke up still completely drained. She tried to stand up, but ended up almost knocking over the lamp on her nightstand.

The crash brought Hopper into the room. He understood immediately.

"No, you are not going to school. Not today, anyway."

"But… but…" she protested, still trying and failing to get out of bed.

"What, do you want them to wheel you around on your first day? No, you don't. We'll see if you can stand up tomorrow. Then we'll see about school."

"No! But-"

"This is not a discussion."

She sighed and pulled the covers back over her head.


	2. Chapter 2

Mike and Will walked through the front doors of Hawkins Middle School. They were met immediately by Lucas, Dustin, and Max, who all looked relieved to see them.

"Thank God you're here. We thought we were gonna have to finish our science project all on our own!" Dustin said.

"Yeah, we would have been screwed. All you two ever do is fight!" Max exclaimed, laughing.

 _BRIIIIIING!_

Will jumped as the late bell rang.

"You sure you're okay?" Mike said in a low voice as the others noisily opened their lockers.

"Yeah, sorry. I'm fine. It's just… I don't know."

"You'll get used to it."

"Yeah." Will said, following the others into homeroom.

Mike had never been so tired in his life. He was surprised that he hadn't managed to make a total fool of himself yet. He had only made it through first and second period by snapping a rubber band against his wrist about every five seconds. He would probably have scars for the rest of his life, but anything was better than pissing off Mrs. Rishbell or getting detention… again.

Be that as it was, he wasn't sure how he was supposed to make it through science. Even though it was his favorite subject, they were currently memorizing the periodic table, which was probably the most boring topic ever. And, to make things worst, they had a substitute- an ancient woman named Mrs. Henderson.

"You still alive?" Dustin joked, turning around in his seat.

"What? Oh, yep, definitely." He said, jerking awake.

Mike turned to look out the window. He had a clear view of the track in the back of the school. The sky was dark and overcast.

Suddenly, a red flash of lightning in the distance caught Mike's eye. In the clouds, he thought he saw a dark, shadowy figure, almost like a spider. It was crawling towards the window, and the classroom was right in the line of-

"Mr. Wheeler!"

Mike snapped up, almost falling out of his desk in the process. "Wha- what?"

"I expect you to stay awake when I'm teaching! See me after class!" Mrs. Henderson said coldly.

Shit.

"Mike, what the hell?" Lucas whispered.

"Since when do you fall asleep during class?" Max hissed.

"Come on, man!" Dustin said.

Will looked at him apologetically.

Ten minutes later, the bell range, signaling the end of the period, and the beginning of lunch. Dustin, Lucas, Will, and Max all shot Mike glances that clearly said 'I'm glad I'm not you' as they left the classroom.

"Now Mr. Wheeler," Mrs. Henderson began, "Can you explain to me exactly why you thought that the middle of third period was a good time to take a nap?"

"Oh, um… I dunno…" Mike stuttered, "I was… tired?"

She scoffed. "Well, normally people who fall asleep are. But we can't have this happening again, can we?" she said, patronizingly.

Mike shook his head, waiting for the blow to fall.

"Detention, Mr. Wheeler. After school, tomorrow. You may go."

"So," Dustin began as Mike slid into a seat next to Will in the cafeteria, "how'd it go?"

"Detention. Tomorrow after school." he answered.

"That sucks, man." Lucas said, taking a bite of a ham and cheese sandwich.

"Well, you did fall asleep in class." Max said jokingly.

"You know you're in deep shit with your parents, right?" Dustin continued, stealing a fry from Lucas' tray, "they specifically said that they would kill you if you got any more detentions this year, right?"

"Yeah."

"Dustin, get your own damn fries!" Lucas said, as Dustin unsuccessfully tried to snag another one from Lucas' tray.

Mike sighed.

"Oh, come on Mike. Stop sulking. I got detention for tomorrow too, you know." Max said nonchalantly.

"What? From who?" Lucas spluttered.

"Mr. Bitsclap. Forgot to do my math homework again." she said, stealing a fry from Lucas.

"Jesus Christ, you guys! Do I need to eat on the roof?" he yelled, moving his fries up higher so Max and Dustin couldn't reach them.

As the three of them bickered, Will leaned over to Mike.

"Sorry about the detention, Mike." he said quietly.

"It's not your fault." Mike sighed.

"Well, it partially is."

Mike looked over at his friend, who looked genuinely worried.

"Don't worry about it. It's… not a big deal."

Will smiled.

Mike was glad that he wouldn't be all by himself in detention, but he still knew that his parents were going to be pissed at him when they found out that he had gotten his second detention in two months…


	3. Chapter 3

Around noon, El could get up and walk around for short periods of time.

"Can I go to school tomorrow? Please?" she begged.

"Fine. But if you pass out, that's not on me." hopper said.

El smiled. She was excited to be normal for the first time in her life.

After school let out, Jonathan dropped Mike off at his house. As soon as he walked in, he knew he was in serious trouble.

"Michael! In the living room right now!" his mom shouted.

Mike dropped his bag and sat down in the armchair. His parents sat down across from him on the couch. He could hear Nancy upstairs on the phone.

"Now. Can you please explain to me why I got a phone call from a teacher this morning saying that you fell asleep in class?" his mom began in a dangerous tone.

"I don't-" he began.

"Don't you pull that act, Michael." his dad snapped, "now answer your mother!"

"I'm sorry, okay? It won't happen again!" Mike said, storming out of the room and up the stairs.

"Michael!" his mom called indignantly from the foot of the stairs.

Mike slammed the door before dropping onto his bed, and falling asleep almost instantly.

 _BRIIIIIING!_

The loud ringing of the doorbell caused Mike to wake with a start. He shot up, immediately smacking the top of his head against the underside of his bunk bed.

"Shit!" he cursed, falling out of bed. It took a minute for him to detangle himself from his sheets.

Rubbing the bruise forming on his forehead, he squinted at the clock on his nightstand- 5:37.

Mike stood up, fumbling for the door handle in his dark bedroom. As he opened the door, he blinked in the sudden brightness of the landing. Once his eyes adjusted to the light, he could see his mom talking to Will, Lucas, and Dustin by the front door.

"He's grounded for the week, sorry boys. He got another-"

"-detention, we know." Dusting finished hurriedly, "but we really need to talk to him. It's serious. We only need five minutes."

"Well, I suppose-" Mike's mom began, but before she could get another word out, the boys were rushing past her.

"Thanks, Mrs. Wheeler!"

"You won't regret it!"

Mike met his friends on the stairs. "What's up?" he asked.

"What's up is that you are our Paladin, and you got detention tomorrow. You're going to miss out D&D planning!" Dustin began in a low voice, "and we need a temporary leader, just for tomorrow."

Mike sighed. Dustin was the sort of person to think Dungeons and Dragons was a life or death situation.

"So," Lucas said eagerly, "who do you choose?"

"Who are you going to give this honor to?" Dustin asked.

Will looked uncomfortable, "Guys," he began, "is it really that big of a deal? Can't we just be a democracy for one day?"

Dustin and Lucas both looked like he had grown an extra head. "What? Since when has _that_ tactic worked?"

"Well-" Mike began.

"Mike! That was a _rhetorical question_!"

"Okay, then I choose Will to be the temporary leader."

Lucas and Dustin both looked put out.

"Boys! It's been well over five minutes!" Mike's mom called from downstairs, saving him from the wrath of Dustin and Lucas.

"Ok. See you tomorrow, Mike." Dustin said, giving him a death glare.

Lucas mirrored him, walking down the stairs. Will looked about ready to burst out laughing.

"See you tomorrow. If they don't murder you." Mike said, smiling.

"Yeah. See you tomorrow." Will answered.

As soon as they closed the door, Mike's mom came up the stairs.

"Mike, what happened to your head?" she said, grabbing his chin to look at the bruise.

"Ow, Mom! I fell out of bed, okay?"

"No, not okay! What is wrong with you! Are you dizzy?"

"No, I'm fine!" he said, exasperated.

His mom sighed. "Okay, just promise me that you won't get _any more detentions_ , okay?"

"Okay, I promise."

She started walking back down. "Come get ready for dinner, Michael." she called.

El walked into the kitchen. "Can I go to school?" she asked eagerly.

"No, you aren't ready yet." Hopper answered calmly from the table

"What? You promised. Friends. Don't Lie!" she fumed.

"Okay, I never promised anything, and therefore I wasn't lying."

"You said 'school tomorrow'! I need to go!"

Hopper turned around. "You don't 'need' to go to school. You need to stay alive for the next few weeks!" he shouted.

"Oh, stay alive? What about school? The bad men are gone!" she yelled back.

"Oh really? You really think that they were all in that lab? You have no idea. You are staying here, and you are staying _safe_!"

"No. I don't care! I can protect me!" El shouted, clenching her fists.

"What are you gonna do, throw a dictionary across the room?" he yelled.

El let out a scream of frustration and ran back into her room, slamming the door behind her.

"No, we are not done! Open. This. Damn. DOOR!"

El curled up in a ball on her bed, sobbing. She just wanted to be normal…


	4. Chapter 4

"Where's Max?" Dustin asked, as soon as they arrived to school.

Mike looked around. Sure enough, she was missing.

"She probably just skipped so she doesn't have to do detention." Lucas said.

As the day progressed, the four boys became increasingly worried. Detention or not, Max was not someone who skipped without alerting her friends beforehand.

Durning the hour and a half Mike had to sit in the hot, stuffy classroom with several other rule breakers, all he could do was think about the last time somebody hadn't shown up at school…

Skating along a long, winding road about a mile from her neighborhood, Max stopped to tie her shoe. In the brush to her left, a twig snapped. Her head shot up, muscles tensing. She grabbed her board, looking around.

Suddenly, she felt rough cloth against her face as a bag was forced over her head. She didn't even have time to scream before she felt the prick of a syringe on her right arm. She swayed and, as she fell, someone caught her.

Then, it all went black.

"Guys, this is serious!" Dustin began.

The four boys were seated in Mike's basement. With much begging and promising of chores, he had been able to swindle his mom into allowing the boys a quick meeting.

"Yeah, I'm really worried about her." Lucas said, fiddling with the D&D figurines.

"I'm sure she's fine. Maybe she just got sick." Will assured them.

"She hasn't answered any of my calls." Lucas said.

"How many times did you call her?" Dustin asked.

"Only like seven."

"Well, maybe she's just pissed at you then."

"You know what-"

"Guys!" Mike shouted over the bickering, "will you shut up? I don't think she's pissed at any of us, okay? If she really is missing, then we need to find her as soon as possible."

"Yeah, but-"

"Boys!" Mike's mom called from the top of the stairs, "it's fifteen after! Your parents are going to wonder where you are!"

Will, Lucas, and Dustin mounted the stairs, saying hurried goodbyes.

Max awoke in a dark room. She was still groggy from being drugged, but she could tell that she was tied up, and seated on a hard chair.

"Hello? Hello! Someone help me! I'm down here! Someone-"

A hand reached from behind her to cover her mouth. "Shhhhhh. I'm not going to hurt you." said a male voice.

"Then what do you want?" she snapped.

The man stepped out of the shadows. He was tall with white hair and piercing blue eyes.

"Oh, I don't need you, my dear." he said with a chilling smile. "I need your friends."

Even though they had never met, Max recognized him from the boys' descriptions.

Her abductor was Dr. Brenner.

Saturday morning, Mrs. Wheeler finally let Mike out of the house. The four boys met on Mirkwood and started searching. Max had been identified as missing on Thursday afternoon, forty-eight hours after the last time she was seen.

"Look! Over here!" Will called, crouching by some brush.

Half concealed under a bush was Max's skateboard.

Lucas pulled it out from its hiding place. "I knew something happened to her! If she had run away, there's no way she would have ditched her board!"

"And look over here!" Mike called, studying tire marks in the dirt by the road. "Someone's been here!"

"What if the tire marks-" Will began.

"-belong to the truck that abducted her!" Dustin finished.

"We should go tell Hopper what we found." Mike said.

Lucas grabbed his arm. "What? Are you crazy? Every minute she's missing is another minute that she could be in danger! The sooner we find her, the sooner she's safe!"

"Do you really think that four fourteen year old boys are really the best people to find her?" Mike retorted.

"Yes! We're her closest friends! We can find her. We _have_ to find her!" Lucas replied.

"Lucas, I think Mike's right. We need to get the police. They can find her." Will said.

Lucas turned on Will. "Is anyone on my side here? We need to find her as soon as we can! You of all people should know that!"

"What do you mean 'you of all people'?" Mike yelled, going red.

"Because he went missing last year!" Lucas snapped.

"Lucas! What the hell! What is wrong with you?" Mike shouted at him.

"I get that you think you're the 'leader' of the party, but you're not, okay? Your opinion isn't the only one that matters here!" Lucas said shoving Mike.

"Woah, guys, calm down." Dustin said.

"Mike, it's not a big deal-" Will started.

Suddenly, both boys were on the ground, wrestling. Will and Dustin moved to pull them apart, but jumped back when Lucas' foot almost landed in Dustin's mouth.

"Guys! Knock it off!" Dustin shouted.

Will looked from Lucas and Mike to Dustin desperately. "We have to do something! Someone's going to get hurt!"

"Stop! Stop it, guys!"

Abruptly, the boys were flung apart. They landed hard on the ground, at least fifteen feet away from each other.

"Holy shit!" Dustin shouted.

Dustin helped Lucas up first.

"If you won't help me find her, then I'll do it myself!" he shouted, clutching his right arm.

Mike got to his feet, leaning on Will for support. "Oh yeah? You'll be sorry! What are you gonna do, track her with your pocket compass?"

And with that, the group split up, Lucas and Dustin heading farther along Mirkwood, and Mike and WIll walking back into town to alert the police.

Neither party stopped to consider what supernatural force had put an abrupt end to the dispute.

El wiped a trickle of blood from her nose on her sleeve. She wanted to make sure Mike was okay, but knew that it would do more damage than good.

Even though Dr. Brenner was gone, El was still a danger to those around her. Which meant that she needed to stay out of sight, or else risk the lives of her friends.

El sighed and turned back to go into the cabin.

Nearly two hours later and with little luck, Lucas and Dustin trudged back into town. Walking along the long, winding road, they were suddenly forced off the road to avoid being run over by a tan truck with _Hawkins Police_ written on the side.

"Great." Lucas sighed. "Now that he knows, we'll never be allowed to help find her!"

"You know, maybe we should let the police take it from here." Dustin said.

"Really? Is anyone on my side?"

"Lucas, there are no sides. This isn't the civil war, man."

"Whatever."

They caught sight of the grocery store just as the sun began to sink below the horizon.

"See you tomorrow."

"Yeah. Don't worry, I'm sure they'll find her."

Lucas turned. "Yeah. They're good at that stuff.

After telling the police what they had found, Mike and Will were advised to go straight home. They snuck into the Wheeler's basement.

"Wait-" Will exclaimed after nearly ten minutes of awkward silence, "when you two were, you know, _brawling_ -"

"-it was _not_ a brawl!"

"That's beside the point! What pulled you off each other? You flew like ten feet in the air!"

"Yeah, and it hurt like-"

"Anyway, my point is that that's not normal. What if it was…"

Mike gasped.

"Eleven!"


	5. Chapter 5

"Come on! Just shake on it!" Dustin hissed across the room, "it's literally not even that big of a deal!"

"He started it!" Mike hissed back, "he drew first blood."

Dustin rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

The bell rang, signaling the end of ninth period. Lucas and Mike had gone the entire day so far without speaking, and neither one was budging.

Mike grabbed his bag from his locker. As he turned to go, Will jogged to catch up.

"Are you and Lucas gonna make up?" he asked.

Mike sighed. "And I repeat- it was not my fault!"

"Who cares who's fault it was?" Will exclaimed as they walked out the front doors of Hawkins Middle School.

"I care."

They walked in silence, grabbing their bikes from the rack out front.

"Wanna go for a ride?" Mike asked.

Will nodded in agreement, and they set off.

As they biked into the woods, Mike suddenly heard a noise off to his left. It sounded like some sort of animal.

"What the-" Will began.

Two figures jumped out of the brush.

It was Troy and James.

"Shit!" Mike shouted, "Will, go! Go! GO!"

"You are so dead, Wheeler!" Troy shouted, chasing after them.

They raced along the dirt path. They had no idea where they were going, but Troy was definitely out for blood.

Before they knew it, they had arrived at the ravine. Troy and James circled the two boys menacingly.

Mike's heart was racing. The last time he had been in a situation like this, Eleven had been the only thing that had saved him from a hundred foot drop to his death.

"No weirdo to save you this time, Wheeler," Troy sneered, "let's finish this. Jump, or Byers gets it."

Once again, Mike felt himself backing towards the edge. As he turned around, his heart dropped. He felt like he was going to pass out. How had he gotten himself in this situation again?

"No! Mike, don't do it! Please, don't do it! Mike I'm serious- Please don't jump!" Will shouted desperately.

Trembling, Mike approached the edge. Suddenly, he heard a shout.

Lucas and Dustin were sprinting along the road, each holding a large knife, probably meant for whoever had kidnapped Max.

"Leave them alone, Troy, or you won't have an arm!" Dustin shouted, waving his knife.

The two larger boys went pale, and immediately sprinted in the opposite direction. Mike slowly backed away from the edge, still shaking.

"You okay, Mike?" Dustin asked.

"I-" he turned back to look at the edge, "yeah. I-I'm fine."

Will embraced his friend. "Do you realize what your mom would have done to me if you had died?" he said, his voice trembling.

"It's okay. I'm fine, really."

Dustin cleared his throat.

"Anyway. Since Lucas just saved both of your asses, I think that you should thank him. Come on, Mike. Just shake already!"

Without hesitation, Mike offered his hand to Lucas. "Sorry." he said.

Lucas took it. "Yeah, I'm sorry too." he mumbled.

There was an awkward silence.

"Anyway, we should probably go to find Max!" Dustin said.

The four boys walked back along the path, together.


	6. Chapter 6

After almost an hour with no luck, Dustin decided to call Steve. He probably had a better chance of finding Max than they did.

The screech of tires on asphalt alerted them to his arrival. "Get in!" he shouted.

Dustin called shotgun, and the other three boys piled into the back.

"So, where should we look?" Steve asked.

"Well…" Dustin began, "we could-"

"Look!" Will shouted, pointing to a plain white van, "that looks familiar! It belongs to the lab!"

"Follow that son of a bitch!" Lucas shouted, as Steve put on the gas.

For several minutes, they drove behind the van, hoping they wouldn't be discovered. Suddenly, the van made a sharp right. Steve jerked the wheel, and Will and Lucas were shoved into Mike.

"A little warning next time would be nice." Lucas groaned, picking himself up off the floor of the car.

"Sorry." Steve said, eyes still fixated on the road in front of him.

Within five minutes, the van had pulled up beside a small ranch. A tall man with white hair opened the door and stepped out.

It was Brenner.

Will gasped. "This must be where Max is!"

Steve turned around. "Okay. Here's the plan. I'm going to get in there and grab Max, and you four are staying here."

"What? No!" They all protested.  
"You little shits need to stay safe, or your parents will have my neck!" he said.

"Please?"

"We'll be fine!"

"Please?"

"She's _our_ friend!"

"Please?"

"OKAY!" he shouted, "but stay quiet!"

The group slowly snuck around to the back of the house, looking for an entrance to the basement.

"Over here!" Mike called.

They all gathered around the door.

"All right, everyone stand back!" Steve said. He kicked the door, and it gave way almost immediately.

"Well," Will said, nervously, "let's go, I guess."

They slowly crept down the steps into the dark basement.

It was the strangest basement Mike had ever seen. There were tables upon tables filled with everythings from machines to loose leaf paper to laptops. And in the center of the room, strapped to a chair, was-

"Max!" Lucas cried, running to untie her. When he had gotten the last of her restraints off, she slumped into his arms, nearly unconscious.

"Lu-Lucas?" she mumbled, her eyes barely open.  
"Yeah, it's me," he said softly, "we found you!"

"That you did." said a voice from the shadows. It was Dr. Brenner.

The four boys and Steve whirled around in shock. Brenner was pointing his gun right at Lucas. His hands were bloody.

"I never thought you would find her this quickly." he mused.

"Leave us the hell alone!" Mike shouted.

In one swift motion, Brenner had grabbed him by the collar and slammed Mike into the wall, knocking the wind out of him. As Mike gasped for breath, Brenner pointed the gun right at his forehead.

Mike could feel the cold barrel of the gun pressed against his skin. He squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the loud _bang_!"

But instead, he heard a crunch of wood on flesh as Brenner dropped him. Turning around, Mike could see Brenner bearing down on Steve, an angry gash on his head from the large baseball bat held in Steve's hand.

"Guys," Steve panted, "take her and… get out… of here!"

Mike turned, helping Lucas get Max to her feet.

The four boys raced to the door. Dustin and Lucas supported Max between them.

"LOOK OUT!" shouted a voice from behind Mike. He turned, just in time to see Brenner pointing the gun-right at them.

 _BANG!_

"DUCK!" Mike shouted, diving to the ground and pulling a startled Will down with him.

 _CRACK!_ The sound of wood hitting flesh echoed through the entire basement. Brenner roared in pain, blood gushing from a large cut across his forehead.

"RUN!" Steve shouted, eyes still on Brenner.

Will threw open the door to the basement, and the others followed him outside, scrambling up the steps.

They raced to the car, waiting for Steve to emerge.

A cold breeze whistled past them, making Mike shiver. Just then, they heard a scream.

"STEVE!" Dusting called, running back towards the basement. Mike tried to grab his arm, but missed.

"Dustin! Wait!" they shouted after him, but it was too late.

"Oh, shit. Oh shit. Oh shit!" Lucas muttered, pacing back and forth.

From the ground, Max suddenly sat up. "What the hell is going on?" she said, looking back and forth between the boys.

"Well." Mike said, "we're _rescuing_ you."

Max looked from the dried blood on Mike's collar to the frightened looks on their faces. "Some rescue." she mumbled.

"Well, do you have-"

"Guys!" Will shouted, "stop arguing!"

They fell silent. The silence was ominous.

Suddenly, another loud _crack!_ rang out. Mike could hear shouting and the sounds of footsteps pounding on gravel. He could barely see.

Out of the growing darkness stepped Dustin, supporting a semi-conscious Steve. His face was bruised and bloody.  
"Get in the car!" Dustin panted, "hurry!"

Lucas helped him get Steve into the back of the car. Max climbed into the driver's seat, and Lucas called shotgun. The other three clambered onto the leather seats in the back.

As Max slammed on the gas, Mike was thrown into Will.

"Jesus, go! JUST GO!" Dustin called, picking himself up off the floor.

"Guys?" Will called, "I think he found us."

Mike wheeled around. He squinted in the blinding lights of the white _Hawkins' Power and Light_ van. And at the wheel was Dr. Brenner.

"Oh, shit!" Lucas shouted.

"Calm down." Mike said.

"Calm down? CALM DOWN? Mike, in case you haven't noticed, we're being chased by _Brenner_! The guy who just tried to _shoot_ us? I think I have plenty of reason to-"

"No, we need to-"

"Need to what, stay calm? Why can't you just-"

"SHUT UP I'M TRYING TO CONCENTRATE!" Max yelled from the front seat, nearly ramming them into a stop sign.

She turned a tight corner, nearly sending them over the ravine.

"CAREFUL!" Mike shouted, not wanting to repeat his previous experience with this particular place.

"I'M TRYING!"

She swerved, dodging Brenner's car once more.

Suddenly, the white van hit a rock and swerved off the road. It was catapulted over the ravine and-

 _CRASH! SPLASH!_

Max slammed on the brakes, nearly sending Mike through the windshield. They all piled out of the car, rushing to the edge of the ravine. Sure enough, they could see pieces of the van floating in the water below.

"He's… gone." Will breathed.

They all stood there for several minutes, not being able to believe their luck. A groan from the car that was parked a few feet away brought them back to their senses. Steve stumbled out of the car, looking confused.

"What the hell happened?" he said, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth.

The five kids looked at each other, and laughed. It was going to be a long night.

A twig snapped in the woods to their left. Mike whirled around, eyes darting between the trees.

About twenty feet away, a dark figure stumbled out of the woods. Whoever it was was wearing jeans and an oversized coat.

The figure turned towards the group. Recognition dawned on her face.

It was Eleven.


	7. Chapter 7

She ran towards them, embracing her friends. Steve, Will, and Max awkwardly stood off to the side.

"We're so glad you're okay!" Mike exclaimed, "After you closed the gate, we wanted to see you, but Hopper said you needed to-"

"-rest. Yes." El said, rolling her eyes.

Over Lucas' shoulder, she caught Will's eye. Even though the two had never technically met while both parties were conscious, her eyes lit up and she smiled. He approached her.

"Hi. Um… Will. You're El, right?" he said.

She nodded, an odd expression still on her face as she embraced him too. They shared a special connection, as the had both lived in the Upside Down for a short amount of time.

When they pulled apart, El noticed Max. She regarded the other girl suspiciously. She almost looked… jealous?

"So… I go, and you… you… _replace_ me?" El said quietly, turning back to Mike.

"Hey!" Max exclaimed. With a flick of her hand, El threw Max on her back.

"El!" Mike exclaimed, "What's wrong with you?"

El closed her eyes, fighting back the stream of memories.

" _You said that you would help us find Will alive! What's wrong with you? What is wrong with you?!"_

"El!"

Her eyes snapped open.

"El, why would we replace you? Max is our...friend… too." Mike explained.

Max stood up, wiping her hands on her jeans. "Is anyone going to address the fact that she just _threw me in the air_?"

"Yeah, don't throw people in the air." Dustin said, "It's… weird."

"-and painful." Lucas added.

El smiled, remembering _several_ instances that had involved throwing Lucas in the air.

"Anyway." Steve said, wiping yet more blood from his face, "Do you mind if we wrap up this little reunion? It's cold out here!"


	8. Chapter 8

Mike stood in the middle of a wasteland. His friends and family were tied to trees in a semicircle around him. Fire blazed in the distance.

Out of the darkness stalked a figure. It was tall with long, thin limbs and an oddly shaped head. It was strange because the figure almost appeared to be missing its-

Face. It was missing its face.

Demogorgon.

 _Run._

Mike tried to run, but it was useless. He was stuck, frozen. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw another figure. And another. And another.

At least a dozen of them.

Mike screamed. Or he tried to, at least. No sound came out.

The first demogorgon stalked towards his mom, devouring her piece by piece. She didn't even have time to scream.

But he did.

Once again, no sound came out.

The demogorgons were destroying everyone he had ever loved right before his eyes.

Mike shut his eyes, trying to block out the horrible sight before him.

He heard Will screaming, Lucas cursing, and Holly crying. Then, it all went silent.

He opened his eyes. And there she was.

Eleven.

El.

She was staring up at the creatures innocently; without fear.

They pounced, destroying her. Ripping her limb from limb and-

Mike sat up, breathing rapidly. He was shivering all over. Looking around frantically, he noticed the other five figures wrapped in sleeping bags.

"Mike?" a voice called.

He jumped, whirling around.

El was propped up on one elbow, looking at him with concern.

His breathing slowed. She was safe.

"It's nothing. I'm sorry. Go back to sleep."

El stared at him. "Mike. I understand."

She smiled before laying back down.

Mike followed suit. Every time he closed his eyes, his mind conjured up horrible images. His mom covered in blood. Will screaming as he was dragged away. Lucas cursing, trying to fend the monsters off with help from Dustin. And El- El lying motionless as the demogorgons devoured her mercilessly.


	9. Chapter 9

Sunday evening, after thoroughly discussing the events of the past week, the party decided to help Max and Eleven get to know each other. Mike could tell that El wasn't a huge Max fan. To be fair, he hadn't been to fond of the idea of letting her join the party a first either, but she wasn't so bad.

Also, El seemed to be the only one who was aware of his nightmare. She kept shooting him worried looks from across the circle from her position on the sofa next to Dustin.

"Why can't our lives just be normal?" Mike asked.

Max smiled. "You're not the one who was kidnapped and kept in the basement for almost a week. You can't talk." she playfully punched his shoulder.

Suddenly, Max screamed. Her arm was bent backwards at an unnatural angle.

"El! Stop it!" Mike shouted.

Max collapsed to the ground, breathing hard. Lucas ran to her side.

"What the hell? Why did you do that?" he shouted.

El turned to Mike. "She hurt you."

"No, she was just playing around, El. You've got to stop attacking people like that." he said.

Max stood up, rubbing her arm. "Look. I don't know what I ever did to you, but I'm sorry, okay? And I'm not a person that just apologizes for every little thing. I'm not a person who looks for others approval. But I worked really hard to be a part of this party, okay? And since you're a part of it too, I need to you to at least put up with me."

El glared at her. "Fine. Sorry."

Mike sighed. This was going to be a long day.

Four hours later, they had yet to accomplish anything else. El was still acting like a jealous teenager and Max was refusing to budge. The four boys were slumped on the couch together, watching El and Max go at it. There had been no more physical contact, but there was definitely tension in the air.

Mike looked at the watch on his wrist; 8:47. They had school the next morning, and had yet to figure out how to keep Max and El from tearing each other apart at the seams.

 _Ding dong!_

Mike jumped up, relieved. It was either Hopper or Max's ride.

The six kids raced up the steps to the front room. There was Hopper, still dressed in his uniform.

"Come on, El. It's time to head out." he said, turning away from Mike's mom.

Silently, El gathered her coat and bent down to tie her shoes. She hugged the four boys, pointedly excluding Max, and followed Hopper out the door.

The five remaining kids turned to head back down to the basement.

"Mike," his mom said, "It's a school night. Remember to get to sleep early."

"I know, Mom." he said, following his friends back to the basement.

Once they go to the basement, Max immediately burst out, "Why the hell does she hate me? I don't understand! I assumed that she wouldn't be like every other obnoxious teenager from the way you guys described her, but she's treating me like shit if I so much as breathe the same air as Mike!"

Will sighed. "She's probably just confused. She's never met another girl her own age before."

"Still," Max said, "I don't get what you see in her, Mike."

Mike opened his mouth to retort.

"Hey! Guys! We're all friends here," Dustin began, "why don't we, like, I dunno, play a game or something?"

They all agreed, not wanting to start another argument.

They had just gotten the game out when the doorbell rang again.

"Max!" Mike's mom called, "you're mom's here!"

Max groaned. "See you guys tomorrow." she said, climbing the stairs.

Once they heard the door close behind them, Dustin sighed. "I will never understand the female species." he said, shaking his head.

Will laughed.

Mike smiled, silently agreeing.

Max slammed her lunch tray down in between Lucas and Dustin.

"But seriously," she continued, "what did I ever do to her? It's not like-"

Mike groaned. "Max," he began, "please just shut up."

Max had been complaining non-stop all day about El and how she didn't understand what she had ever done to her.

Max looked outraged. "It's not my fault your girlfriend hates me!" she hissed.

Mike blushed. "She's _not_ my girlfriend. And she doesn't _hate_ you-she just needs to get used to you, that's all. Now can we _please_ just talk about something- _anything_ -else?"

"Fine." Max said, "what would _you_ like to talk about?"

"I dunno. Just lay off her, ok?"

They ate in awkward silence for the rest of the period.


	10. Update Soon

So sorry I haven't updated for a while! I was SO not expecting to get almost a thousand views! Thank you all so much! I promise to update soon! hang tight!


	11. Chapter 10

After school, Mike spotted Max walking home. He ran up to her.

"Hey, Max. Can we talk for a minute?" he asked.

She rolled her eyes. "You can't make me like your girlfriend. She was a total ass to me when we first met, and she can't just accept that-"

He held up his hand to silence her. "Look- I get it. I wasn't a huge fan of you either when I first met you. But she'll warm up to you. She just feels threatened. She's never really interacted with other girls her own age before, you know?"

She scoffed. "So basically, you're saying that the girl who can literally _move shit with her mind_ is, what, _scared_ of me?"

"I- sure. We'll go with that. But that's not the point, Max. the point is that you two need to get along. And you can't both be stubborn forever."

She raised her eyebrows. "Oh, really?"

"I know you _could_ stay stubborn forever," he corrected himself hastily, "but you _shouldn't._ Please just try to be friendly? Please?"

She hesitated for a moment, but only for a moment. She had worked to hardly to gain Mike's trust and she wasn't about to lose it now over his jealous girlfriend.

"Fine. I'll try. But if she refuses to talk to me, there's nothing I can do."

Mike grinned. "Thanks so much, Max! I owe you one!" and with that, he sped off to bike home with Dustin.

"Hey, Max." Lucas said, approaching from behind, "What was that all about?"

She sighed. "Mike wants me to _play nice_." she said. "He wants me to _be friends_ with his little girlfriend or whatever. And-"

Lucas laughed. "Come on, max. Cheer up. She grows on you, really."

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" she snapped.

Lucas backed away. "Woah, sorry. Didn't mean to offend you or whatever. I just really want you two to be friends, okay? And plus, she might be coming to school soon anyway. Now that the chief is her legal guardian or whatever, he's gonna try to enroll her. It would look pretty suspicious if you two had a rivalry. She's gonna need to blend in."

Max sighed. "No, I get it. I'm sorry I snapped at you. It's not your fault. I just know that you guys would choose Eleven over me if you had to choose." she blinked back tears and kicked at a rock by her shoe.

Lucas put a hand on her shoulder. "Come on. I would never choose her over you! You're an official party member, Max! And friends don't leave friends. Never ever. No matter what."

She smiled at him. "Thanks, Lucas. I really appreciate it. I'll try I promise."

He smiled back. "Okay."

They set off down the road together, their hands hanging close together, but never quite touching...


	12. Update Soon 2

Ah sorry I haven't updated! I may continue this story or I may finish this one and begin a new one! Please review and send ideas for other stories!


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